Colostomy protector



May 29, 1951 J. E. GUINN 2,555,086

COLOSTOMY PROTECTOR Filed June 7', 1950 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNE Y,

Patented May 29, 1951 ES PATENT Fl CE 'GOEGSTUMY PROTECTOR J Edwin:Guinn; Ithaca, N. Y.-,. assignor to: Etna Appliance and Equipment-. 00..Inc., Dryden, vN.-Y., a-corporationof New York Ap iicatioimime'i; 1950;Serial No; 166598 Z-CIaims. 1

This device isparticularly usefulte those who haveundergonethe operationknown-as a colos tomy,. by which the normal outlet of the" lowerintestine is changed to an opening in. the ab dominal wall. made by anincision in the: side; Since the personhas little control over the: discharges it is necessary that. some'sortof: a recep' tacle be: worn, if:the person is to' lead: any sort of a normallyactive life. Thecollostomy sacks: previouslyused have not been entirely satisfactory fora number ofreasons. They" haveusually involved a. rubber sack, or atleast a: rub ber'washer against the skin around. the colostomy opening.Rubber: and other soft materials have a tendency to absorb odors whichcannot be entirely removed by ordinary washing; and amtbroad soft washerelement tends to cause per-- spiration and chafing. In any articlecontinu-- ously worn on the body it is important that the: skin bemaintained in as: normally dry condi-- tionas possible. Another sourceof odor has been thegases over which the patient has no voluntarycontrol; It has also been foundthatloose bags or sacks tendedto'become"bu1ky,.were hardto cleamand because of the looseness'pre-'cluded the person from taking part in various beneficial sports such as:swimmihg,.-Iorig.walks=ordancing.

The objects of the presentinvention are to provide a colostomy-protectorwhich canbe" com fortably' worn without attracting: attention; that willbe lighter and more durable than previous devices; that can be easilycleaned and will not absorb odors; that will eliminate all rubber orother soft material's thereceptaele or against the skin;- provide forthe neutralization of. gaseous odors; and to permit light te passthrmthe: device for its beneficial action on the skin.

Other objects are to encourage more normal physical activities tobenefit the general healthto reduce the cost of manufacture; an'd t'o reduce the cost-to thepatientr Unlike some' ofthe more elaboratedevicesnow cm the market} the present device, with reasonable care. willlast a long time.

Referring now to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front view of the device.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of Fig. l, as seen from the lower side.

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view showing in greater detailthe odor neutralizing apparatus, the body pressure plate and seals.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 3 showing theseparator plate in the odor neutralizing device.

Fig. 5* illustrates the general manner of wear ing the colostomyprotector and belt.

Similar reference: nume'rais refer to similar parts thruout the variouslviews Referring now to Fig.1 1", the colostomy protec' tor consistsofa-receptacle or chamber I having a; generally" rectangularshapeasviewed: from the front andprovided with sloping. walls 2' in'- clininginward toward the top or outward to ward. the? body; this taper-ed formbeing. best illustrated in Fig; 2 and Fig. 3.

In Fig.- 3 the: humanbody 3 is show'n having; the colostomy openingeta-m which. digested'ma terialflowsiinto the chamber- I. The-colostomyprotector is held place on: thepersons bod-3f by" a strap or belt- 5asshown in Fig. 5;. the: belt 5 preferably ending; in: pairs of;attaching tapes GhaVin'gLiastener-s 'lf'aszshown ini-Fig l and Fig.2:'I' he'se tapes. 6 pass thru: the: slots 8 the" outer flange-or rim 9*of the protector;

While: the: chamber I is approximately rectan gular as'viewedimFig.I.,.i=t's rimawhe're'it touches the'body is not of strictly" straightlinesg but is curved on arcsto fit the normalzcontours of the body'a'sshown inzFig. 2 and Fig. 3 Though the general configuration of:- the:protector is accord ingly convex. itsr'outer flange: 9 is: eurled backas: shown best at the right and. left of Fig. 3; the curl going; alltheway around the: protector as indicated in: dottedl'ine, the outeredge of the: flange siterminatingi in a s'm'oothly rounded: bead 9 Thisupward or outward: curve of the: rim 9 and its smoothly rounded edge 9permit the person to bend: freely and takeany normal positure withoutdanger of chafing; or cutting? the skim The slots e are located near theedge- 8 and: far enough uponthe curled back r-im 9' so that the tapesaarenot-pressedinto the person'fs body by the underside'ofi the rim 9".

At the inner: side' of: the flange 9 and under the base ofthe'slopingwall' 2- there is provided: a rounded groove ur which:v hasno sharp edges to out the: ski-n1 but creates a natural seali 5y reasonof the skin projecting into the groove Ii] when in use. On the innermostside of this sealing groove H! a rounded wall H provides the primary orfirst seal which the eflluvia in the colostomy protector meets. Anefiiuvia which works past that point encounters the rounded groove in asthe second seal; and finally the broad flange 9 which is close againstthe skin for a considerable distance constitutes the tertiary or outerseal.

It is important that these seals, and indeed any portion of theapparatus that may come into contact with the efiluvia, should notinvolve the use of rubber or other soft material which might have atendency to absorb odors. It has been found that odors penetrate rubberand often cannot be eradicated by washing.

In any such apparatus that must be continuously Worn there is always thedanger of harming the skin. Therefore not only should the device be hardand impervious to moisture and acids, and without sharp corners oredges, but also it should in all ways provide as natural conditions aspossible. This colostomy protector is therefore made of translucent ortransparent plastic material. This permits some light to reach the skinfrom time to time as on other portions of the body that are usuallycovered, with a generally beneficial effect. In addition this provides awindow or translucent panel thru which the wearer may observe theconditions within the receptacle. Furthermore, when light can pass thruthe device, it is more likely to be thoroughly washed and cleaned.

In addition to the digested material discharging from the colostomy,there is also considerable gas. Since the patient has no voluntarycontrol of this gas, its odor may become embarrassing. If not allowed toescape it may create dangerous pressures. There is therefore provided adeodorizing filter l covered by a removable cap l6 having orifices [1thru which gas can escape. This cap I6 is screwed on the rim 18 of themain opening IS in the top of the chamber l. A perforated disk 20, bestseen in Fig. 4, may be used to support the filter pad I5. Where thefilter I5 is of sufficiently rigid material the separator 20 may beomitted. Numerous deodorizing materials permeable to gas are well knownin the art, and this construction permits the use of almost any of themas desired. The filter material can be readily changed by unscrewing thecap I6, and there is nothing in the rest of the device to hold or absorbodors.

The particularly advantages of this form of colostomy protector are asfollows: the device is sufiiciently rigid and compact so that it doesnot attract attention with ordinary clothes or even with a bathing suit,and it can be comfortably worn; being principally of one piece it issimple to manufacture, and less expensive than the sack types. It islight and durable, with no parts toreplace except the deodorizingmaterial. The device is much easier to keep clean than more complicatedtypes, and there is no rubber to absorb odor. Finally, its transparencymakes it possible for the user to take better care of himself and theapparatus, warning him when it is getting too full, assisting him toclean it, and permitting the light to reach the skin.

While I have in the foregoing described a certain specific form of thedevice by Way of example, it will be understood that it is merely forpurposes of illustration to make clear the principles of the invention,which is not limited to the parassaoso' ticular form shown but issusceptible to various modifications and adaptations in differentinstallations as will be apparent to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as stated in the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. In a colostomy protector, the combination of a chamber havingtapering walls and a translucent top, said top having an'orifice, a capon said orifice, said cap having ventilating holes, a deodorant forneutralizing gases passing thru said cap, the base of said taperingwalls having an inner rounded edge extending around the chamberto act asa primary seal against the escape of efiluvia from within the chamber, asecondary seal consisting of a rounded groove immediately back of theprimary seal and extending around the chamber, a tertiary sealconsisting of a rim flange extending around the chamber and adapted tocontact the body near the chamber, said rim having an outer portion ofthe flange curved away from the body, said outer portion having asmoothly rounded edge, slots in said flange near said edge to hold asupporting belt, the primary, secondary and tertiary sealing portions asthey extend around the chamber being curved to approximate the contoursof the body where they press upon it so as to avoid con centration ofpressure on the patients skin.

2. In a colostomy protector, the combination of a chamber havingtapering walls and a top, said top having an orifice, a cap on saidorifice, said cap having ventilating holes, a deodorant for neutralizinggases passing thru said cap, the base of said tapering walls having aninner rounded .edge extending around the chamberto act as a primary sealagainst the escape of effluvia from within the chamber, a secondary sealconsisting of a rounded groove immediately back of the primary seal andextending around the chamber, a tertiary seal consisting of a rim flangeextending around the chamber and adapted to contact the body near thechamber, said rim having an outer portion of the flange curved away fromthe body, said outer portion having .a smoothly rounded edge, slots insaid flange near said edge to hold a supporting belt, the primary,secondary and tertiary sealing portions as theyextend around the chamberbeing curved to approximate the contours of the body where theypressupon it so as to avoid concentration of pressure on the patients skin.

' J. EDWIN GUINN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,048,392 Koenig July 21, 19362,221,321 Foron Nov. 12, 1940 2,524,750 Bellinger Oct. 10, 1950

